If financial freedom is your dream, then you must cultivate a saving culture.
The word cultivate mean to grow, to nurture, or to tend. This is a potential virtually everyone has, but may not be exhibiting yet.
Why don’t people want to save and then save some more? Well, the truth is everyone likes to look good, eat good, put up some show, have fun and so on. It is man’s nature to not delay self-gratification.
If financial freedom is your dream, then you must cultivate a saving culture. Share on XMany however, know about saving, and probably read about it. You may also want to save money to gain financial freedom. But then, there is the “how-to”, which you must know about to avoid ending up frustrated and unable to realize your dreams.
Here are 5 ways to cultivating a lasting saving culture.
- Change Your Mindset
- Have a set Vision for your Finances
- Have a Planned Budget
- Put Your Savings Beyond Your Reach
- Choose The Right Company
1. Change Your Mindset
Usually, the problem of saving money isn’t really about wasteful spending, most of the time. It’s a mental issue.
You may have set a fixed amount to lay aside, but then a need arises and without a pre-arranged plan; you are compelled to use your saved funds to bring closure to that peculiar need. This may have been your ordeal; and at some point, it becomes a norm to try to save but always experiencing failure.
The real issue is you are struggling to save, which is why you keep failing. Your problem is not your failed attempts, but the way you think. Until you change your thinking, your failed attempts at saving will keep increasing.
Until you change your thinking, your failed attempts at saving will keep increasing. Share on XMost of us have carried a particular mindset of always pleasing others. Even at the expense of our goals and priorities. You want to be in everyone’s good light.
You must know that the world doesn’t revolve around you. If you ignore the need to always use your savings, the world wouldn’t collapse. Those who won’t let you rest will always find another way to meet their needs.
How can you change your mindset then? You don’t change your mind by making resolutions to save. Neither do you change your mind by trying so hard to save. If you succeed at it today, you will fail at it tomorrow. You need to deal with this issue from the source.
You can only change your mind by feeding it with new information about saving. And reading this post is a great place to start.
How many books on financial freedom have you read? How many business seminars have you attended? Do you have a financial adviser?
The flow of new information into your mind is what guarantees your ability to make new, informed, and lasting decisions about saving. The rich man and the poor man think differently. And your thoughts are based on the information you have.
The rich divides his income into seed and bread while the poor see his income as bread only. With time the rich will save enough to invest and the poor has nothing to grow with.
The flow of new information into your mind is what guarantees your ability to make new, informed, and lasting decisions about saving. Share on XNow, there are a lot of great books, to begin with, from authors like Robert T. Kiyosaki, George S. Clawson, MJ DeMarco, Napoleon Hill, T. Harv Eker, and more. What’s the deal here? It is rubbing your mind with great minds. This will get you on the part to saving and investing wisely in no time.
2. Have a set Vision for your Finances
A vision represents a picture, grafted into your mind so clear that you see it every time. It is a clear target of why you must save.
Until the why question is answered, You’d always lose your way.
After setting a clear vision or target financially, then it’s time to take it a step further, which is what must I do to accomplish this financial vision?
Your vision must now be broken down into bits. How saving and investing weekly or monthly can take you to your ultimate vision. These broken down steps you have arrived at are called goals. You need to set goals to achieve your vision. Your goals must be realistic if you must achieve them.
An unrealistic goal will make you fail at saving. Also, what the new information will bring you is taking savings up your list of priorities. You become firm with your set goals.
An unrealistic goal will make you fail at saving. Share on XA clear example of your financial vision can be to be financially independent in 20 years from now. It can be a vision to accomplish a project. Or a vision to start a business. Whichever it is, you need a vision to look at.
Ensure to write it down. You can paste it on a small notice board in your room where you get to see it always. It keeps the picture and motivation fresh.
3. Have a Planned Budget
Now that you have a vision, you need to budget your income. A budget will help you see clearly to separate your needs from your wants. It’s where you plan your expected expenses.
Anything not budgeted will be wasted. This goes for everything including your money. You allocate resources to various needs and cut down on unwanted spending. It is wise to set a fixed percentage for your savings. In the long run as your income increases, your savings will automatically follow suit.
“You don’t grow big to budget well, you budget well to grow big.”
The budget comes before spending. This is where you curb spending above the budget which naturally leads to borrowing. You can’t save money when you borrow. You may as well borrow your savings first.
Ideally, you need a book where your income, expenses, investment funds are well documented. Until an idea is transferred on paper it isn’t yet a plan.
4. Put Your Savings Beyond Your Reach
You are still human. And should save yourself from every temptation that may put you at risk to spend your saved money.
It is wise to have different accounts for keeping saved funds for investment and savings for emergencies. With this you can send your investment funds into your investment the moment they arrive.
Such investments should be such that you cannot easily liquidate or collect from. There are various types of such investments and the money market is a good place to start as it has zero risk levels.
5. Choose The Right Company
This article is not about the best place to invest or save. But rather a way to cultivate your saving culture. So by company I don’t mean where you may choose to invest, but rather the kind of friends you keep.
If after you change your mindset, set a vision for your finances, budget your spending, and put your savings and investment out of reach; then you walk around with extravagant people, or friends who will always appeal on your ego to show off; you will lose all the hard work you already put in and may be forced to spend your savings.
As I said, you are human, and the chances you’d be able to cultivate a new saving culture and sustain it depends on what you are exposed to. Don’t tempt yourself here. You have a goal, stay as far away as possible from events, friends, or loved ones who don’t think the same way.
Don’t try to please everyone. At least not just yet. You can wait until you have accomplished your vision of having enough. It’s your choice to choose those you walk and share ideas with. So choose them wisely.